'Outcast' (415) General Discussion

[SpikeBad]

Atlantis does earth based episodes alot better than SG1.


Does she know she is in a "Matrix"?

The Matrix has her!

[idlewild202]

Eh, this episode was OK. I was kinda bored to be honest, but it still had it's good parts.

Seeing Bates again was really nice, finally got a good explanation of where he went. Glad to see he's not totally gone from the Stargate universe as a character, albeit a very small part still.

Oh man... Sheppard's dad's house.... that barn and arena, oh I want it! Haha, out of the entire episode that was the one thing that really caught my attention, the arena, I picked it out the very first shot and asked my sister "Was that a riding arena?" Then the shot were you could see it and the jumps and the nice nice NICE barn in the back... oh I was drooling. I want a setup like that one... anyway, moving on!

It was nice to learn more of Sheppard's family... his ex-wife, um... wow, that explains why he falls for hot alien women... he fell for a hot human woman to start with. She was cool though, she didn't annoy me at all, I was half expecting her too, but she didn't. Sounds like she is a smart, capable woman. Her and John just didn't mesh.

What else... hehe, Ronon and the food, that made me chuckle.

I liked how they ended it, with the alternative reality thing, until I learned that's what it was I was very skeptical about actually letting a Replicator live on earth. So when it turned out to be an AR, I was very pleased, did not see that coming, I like unexpected endings

Oh, I LOVED the CG shots of the Apollo in orbit around earth, those were NICE. 'Specially the one with the sun on the horizon and the Apollo flying into frame from the bottom, that one was nice.

But, all in all, it wasn't a very solid ep IMO, a nice ep, but not solid.

[ladyjanus]

Pretty good ep, better than the last one. Can't find too much to fault this week.

Nice action sequences, great fight between Ava and the Replicator. Would have liked to have seen a little bit more Shep backstory, maybe a nice flashback or two or three, but overall a good ep.

Oh, and it's really nice to know that the Shepherd family tree can produce more than just the one gorgeous hunk.

Mustn't forget Shep and Ronan in civvies. (Gulp) Love a man in a well cut suit, don't you?

ladyjanus

[jelgate]

Jelgate's Two Cents

This was such an improvement from last weeks episode. Quite a bit of long over do development for Sheppard and moderate action from fighting the Earth Replicator. A big advantge was the fact that McKay had a very minimal role in this episode. Don't get me wrong, I like McKay, but this episode allowed the friendship between Ronon and Sheppard to shine. It really shows how much Ronon cares about Sheppard and the unspoken bond they have like in the Atlantis gate room when Ronon tells Sheppard he is going. Sheppard doesn't even have to ask why, because of the friendship that has developed over the years. A long time ago (Letters from the Pegasus) we wondered why Sheppard didn't talk to his family. It has became clear that they drifted apart due to the fact that Sheppard didn't want to follow in his father footsteps. Loved the hostility between Sheppard and his wife. Very interesting to see what had caused them to break up. I laughed when Nancy said she tried to see what he had been up to in the last few years This episode also once again showed Sheppard's dark side. It wasn't as bad as Miller's Crossing, but he blackmailed a scienctist to find out how to capture the Replicator. Speaking of the scienctist, he sure was a moron. Did he really think he would be abl to stop the Replicator. That said, it was kind of predictible that he was going to be killed by the ReplicatorThe action squences were nicely done and showed just how cunning the Earth Replicator was. He took miltiple shots from gunfire and was still able to run away. Even when he was corned on that metal structure, the Replicator was able to think on his feet and jump into the river (I'm assuming its a river). Even though that was predictible (TV is filled with predictibillities) Ava being a Earth Replicator had me so shocked, I had to make an emergency trip to the bathroom. Speaking of Ava, that fight between her and the male Replicator was fantastic. Good Job BamBam. Putting a transporter beacon to defeat an enemy was differently different. But I ask, would they have done the same thing if was human and had the same abilities. Speaking, of that the CGI shot of the Replicator falling to Earth was amazing. Good to see Bates . He still has that non-trusting attiude that he had back in Season One. I also found that in this episode, Dr. Lee was humerous and helpful without being annoying like he was in Adrift and Lifeline Was it right for the SGC to dissemble Ava. She most likely didn't pose that much of a security risk. I realize that she is a Replicator, but she never did anything that was wrong.
*ponders*
My only compliant is that they didn't mention what Teyla was doing. TPTB told us why McKay couldn't go with that nice friendship scene between the two friends, but not a mention of Teyla. Overall, one of the best episodes this season.
P.S: Did anyone see how they gave JF credit for this episode.

[joebags]

It was nice to finally get some Sheppard backstory, after four years, but the whole replicator plot was boring. Long chase scenes and lots of gunfire don't make a good story.

Carter. Poor Carter with her one line of dialogue. I bet Amanda can't get away from this show fast enough.

Bates was a nice touch though.

I would hope for a better episode next week but we are apparently getting lots of Keller, and I can't stand her. Skipping that one. Will shoot for week after next and hope for improvements.

[Shan Bruce Lee]

I wouldn't say Shep was blackmailing the guy for information. I think "bluffing" is a better word. (IMO)

[Crichiel]

This episode was different in tone from what I was expecting. I read way too many spoilers and make too many guesses! But I really loved the episode overall.
-Loved the continuity with Bates. I had wondered what happened to him
-I generally dislike the roles Kari Wuhrer has done before (John's ex-wife), but I really liked her here and found her believable as John's ex
-I liked the storyline with the Replicators in general. Very cool
-I LOVED that John came from an affluent family. I don't know why, but it was totally unexpected and I guess I just like that most shows have this stereotype of heroes rising from poor families where they had to "Learn that they could be something more!"(to be read using the movie-phone voice guy)
-Short as it was, the scene between John and Rodney was great and also that Ronon just silently went with John, no explanation

So, one of the better ones this season. My only REAL complaint is that I feel like all the episodes this season, the team is fractured. It was such a major complaint people had in the later seasons of SG-1, you would think TPTB would be more conscious of not repeating that. But then again, they have said over and over in the commentaries how hard it is to film as fast as they do, and even more so when you use the whole cast and have to make sure you get all the coverage.

[Vala_M]

Very nice episode. As was said above, Atlantis does Earth-based episodes better than SG-1 did ironically!

I never noticed Ronon wearing a watch, I will have to pay more attention on the second airing.

Sheppard from a rich family, I never would have saw that coming. Ronon goes to Earth again and this time took his gun. The whole beaming people up and down was a little too convenient though. Ellis wasn't shown because of budget constraints probably. We did get Dr. Lee though. I liked the whole "I was on vacation" part. It was his unlucky day I guess. The Replicator being able to be killed with guns kind of felt like a cop out though as human form Replicators were always impervious to Earth weapons. Was it intentional or a design flaw? Earth is getting Neutronium now apparently. I didn't suspect that Eva was a Replicator until just about 30 seconds before they discovered it. Interesting. I was glad that she helped them capture him in the end though. I hate that they destroyed her body and just let her live in the artificial Aurora stasis pod computer. But I guess that's better than her just being shut down or destroyed. They should have kept her in the SGC, especially because she was programmed to be friendly. I wonder if she consented to that or they fooled her?

I'm glad that we found out what happend with Bates, honestly, I found out months ago online but it's nice to see it as well.

And where was N. John Smith's boat cameo scene at? Did stupid scifi edit it out? Joe Mallozzi mentioned to look for him on his blog.

Very cool episode. I still can't stand waiting for "Midway though".

Vala,

[jelgate]

I wouldn't say Shep was blackmailing the guy for information. I think "bluffing" is a better word. (IMO)

You can still blackmail a person and still be bluffing.

[Shan Bruce Lee]

It was nice to finally get some Sheppard backstory, after four years, but the whole replicator plot was boring. Long chase scenes and lots of gunfire don't make a good story.

It does for me

[ToasterOnFire]

It wasn't great, but certainly better than the drek that was the last 2 eps. I was hoping for more about Shep than what we got and I could have done without all the chase scenes. The fight between the two replicators was well choreographed though. Also: Bates, yay!

Why did this ep feature Dr. Lee so prominently? Rodney could have done the same job, and he's actually a main character on SGA instead of a tertiary character on SG1.

Why couldn't the replicator turn into a metal box or something to hide? Is there a canon (not fan speculation) reason for this, or was this a "dumbing down" of the enemy just to make it easier for the good guys?

[jelgate]

Why couldn't the replicator turn into a metal box or something to hide? Is there a canon (not fan speculation) reason for this, or was this a "dumbing down" of the enemy just to make it easier for the good guys?

I don't even know if alien Replicators could do that. Besides this one was made out of Earth materials versus Ancient materials

[Ancavge]

Good show overall, I wasnt surprise about the ending, since i thought the female bot at the end, said something about her being in a virtual reality, right before john exist the VR world. And that was a interesting way to destroyed that repl. man. Ronon was also funny, "This food is free right?"

[Ruffles]

Words cannot express how much I loved this ep. OK, I am an unapologetic Sheppard fan, and I've been waiting to learn something about him. Outcast delivered!!!

First, JF does a phenomenal job expressing Sheppard's emotions - the shock at his father's death, his obvious discomfort talking to Rodney about it, his uneasiness at going home, being uncomfortable around his brother and ex-wife, the grief at his father's casket. He portrays all of Sheppard's emotions and still gives him that closed-off feeling. I particularly liked his anger with his brother about the will and his threats to Richard about jailing the girl if he didn't cooperate.

I heard enough spoilers to know about the wealthy background, the brother and the ex-wife. While I still crave more (what happened to cause such division, where did Shep go to college and what was his major, who did he work for when he flew those secret missions to North Korea, where were the rest of the houses he grew up in, what happened to his mom....), what I learned was wonderful. He didn't want to fit in the box his dad had for him. He left because he thought that's what his dad wanted even though it wasn't. He kept secrets because he had to even though it cost him his marriage.

Nancy - LOVED her. Not only was she beautiful, she was smart and kind and seemed to genuinely care about him even after the divorce. It takes someone with a lot of heart and forgiveness to go to the wake of her ex-father-in-law. She was willing to risk her career to help John even without knowing why, but she wasn't a push-over and didn't want anything in return other than for him to be careful. I loved when she told him she empathized now with his inability to tell her his secrets then, and when she told him she knew him. I think she really does (and so few do).

Ronon - I love him more every single episode. He doesn't ask Sheppard's permission to go to Earth. He just packs a bag and goes - even walks through the gate first before John can protest. He doesn't ask a lot of uncomfortable questions, but he's there, checking on Sheppard occasionally to make sure he's doing OK. The buffet scene was hilarious, but when he sees Sheppard at the casket and backs away.... Did I mention I love him?

Rodney - not there much, but a very nice scene at the beginning. I understand from a filming point of view that DH was shooting Trio, but I thought the official explanation showed a terrific side of Rodney. He needed to go fix the array on the kid planet. Quite a bit of difference from the guy who sent Zelenka to do it in Critical Mass. And I love that he recognized Shep was hurting and offered to talk. John isn't quite there yet though.

Replicator storyline - I loved the continuity with Miller's Crossing. The hunt was good. It was great to see Bates again. I hope he'll return someday soon. While Bill Lee was still humorous (the sunburn and that shirt!) he was also competent. Is he part of the Apollo crew now? I didn't see the girl-as-replicator coming. I figured she had been bought off. So good to see Smart Sheppard in action - beaming the male replicator into space for a low-orbit crash and burn, and downloading the female replicator into the Virtual Environment a la Aurora (yea for continuity again!). They totally had me going until Shep disappeared after he talked to her.

As a Shep whumper, I appreciated the fight scene complete with choking and collapsing. As a Shep fan, I appreciated the closing scene with him attempting to reconcile with his brother.

Green for anyone that can post a readable caption of the newspaper article the girl downloaded at the beginning about Mr. Sheppard's death. More green if you can tell me what state was printed on the license plates.

*happy sigh*

[dasNdanger]

I enjoyed the episode very much. Good to see a bit of Sheppard's background - I have a little more sympathy for that Wraith-Killer now.

He seems so socially uncomfortable, I felt kinda bad for him. I love it when he squirms in situations like this - makes him very likeable.

The whole thing about the falling out with his father, and the stuff his brother said to him about leaving, and all...well...knowing all that John has gone through since joining the Atlantis team, it kinda hurt ME - the viewer - to hear his brother put him down. I know it's only fiction, but I still felt like yelling at his brother for being such an idiot. I hope - someday - his brother learns of how heroic John has been...

Ronon and the buffet - LOLOLOL! "This is free, right?" Too funny!!

Hubby picked up on the Terminator thing right away - and complained about the whole 'been there-done that' thing...which would have ruined the show...BUT...it didn't, for one simple reason: they acknowledged the rip-off by talking about what would be done in the movies. "If this was the movies we'd dip him in a vat of molten steel, or a volcano..." - THAT saved the episode by acknowledging the connection to stuff we've already seen. LOVE when a show ties threads of popular culture together.

I was almost ready to revolt - AGAIN - near the end, when they were talking about what to do with the female replicator. When they started talking about her working at Stargate, I was like "NO WAY!! If ANYone gets that job, it should be Todd!!" - but then they fixed that, too...so...I was happy.

Good episode - especially for the glimpses into Sheppard's old life. Like I said, makes me feel a bit more sympathetic towards the guy.

das